INTRODUCTION

   Wireless technology never stands still so although it wasn't until roughly just over a year ago when manufacturers released their very first AC1750 compatible routers now we already see AC1900 compatible ones offering even higher combined speeds. Of course not every single manufacturer out there has joined in on the fun as of yet but the market leaders like Linksys and Netgear can't afford to not be on the forefront of technology so naturally their AC1900 routers are the first to see the light of day. Our routers review section is somewhat "under populated" compared to out other sections because we don't do router reviews of models that we think have nothing new and innovative to offer (both in features and specifications) but the brand new EA6900 AC1900 Smart Wi-Fi Wireless Router by Linksys seems to have everything going for it from appearance and up to features and specifications so we just had to take a look.

   The Linksys brand has pioneered wireless connectivity since its inception in 1988 with its leading innovation and engineering strategies, and best-in-class technology, design, and customer service. Linksys enables a connected lifestyle for people at home, at work and on the move, and with its award-winning products, simplifies home control, entertainment, security and Internet access through innovative features and a growing application and partner ecosystem.

   Much like the previous generation AC1750 routers the Linksys EA6900 AC1900 Smart Wi-Fi Wireless Router is a concurrent, dual-band (802.11n & 802.11ac) router with 3x3 transmit/receive 6 dipole antennas capable of supporting a theoretical maximum of 600Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1300Mbps on the 5GHz band. Again like with all AC modem/routers the keyword here is concurrent so in reality the Wi-Fi speed of the router can never reach 1900Mbps and it goes without saying that unless you plan on using the EA6900 with 802.11ac compatible devices (take advantage of the much faster 5GHz band) chances are that you'd be better off with a much cheaper 802.11n model like for example the E4200 again by Linksys. The Smart series of routers by Linksys also allow the end user to control them using a smartphone or a tablet from anywhere in the world via cloud an interesting feature we don't see very often. Performance however (both wired and wireless) is what matters most when testing a router so let's see just how well the EA6900 AC1900 performs compared to the AC1750 routers we tested a while back.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

You can see a picture of the EA6900 along with its main features and the smart wi-fi feature at the front of the box.

The rear of the router along with the 3 adjustable antennas is showcased on the left side while on the opposite side we see the features list in 4 languages.

Linksys showcases the smart Wi-Fi feature at the rear right above a chart comparing the features of the EA6900 AC1900 to those of the EA6300 AC1200 and the EA2700 N600 routers.

Everything is nicely packed inside the box with the help of several pieces of cardboard.

Along with the EA6900 you will also get the 3 antennas, AC power adapter, Ethernet cable, manual CD and a quickstart guide.

THE EA6900

Much like with most routers in the market as we speak the EA6900 features a low profile yet long design (256x185x39mm) and is made primarily out of hard plastic.

The company logo along with the model name is placed on the top front center of the router.

As you can see most of the housing is perforated so the internal components should breathe easily.

At the rear we see the 3 antenna spots, WPS button, reset button, USB 3.0 port, USB 2.0 port, WAN port, 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, DC in and the on/off switch.

The base of the router is also perforated and aside the 4 rubber feet it also comes with two wall mounts.

With all 3 antennas installed and the Linksys logo illuminated while on the EA6900 is without doubt one of the best looking routers we've ever seen.

WEB INTERFACE

Linksys updates the FW of the EA6900 quite frequently so we strongly suggest heading over to their support page to download and install the latest version.

After installing the EA6900 the moment you launch IE you will be redirected to the setup screen. Here you can either use your cloud account credentials to gain remote access (if you have an account, if not you can make one) or access the router locally.

The web interface looks great and is very easy to navigate.

From here you can check the connected devices, enable/disable guest access along with the number of guests, enable/disable parental controls, setup media prioritization either for applications or games (the EA6900 has many preloaded ones), share files and folders on attached USB drives, perform FW updates, setup internet connectivity, check device status, perform diagnostics and finally you can adjust the various security options for the wireless connectivity of the EA6900.

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Since standalone routers can't directly connect to the internet (unless you have a cable connection which we don't) and thus the modem is responsible for internet speeds the only thing that's left is to test and see how much bandwidth they can offer by directly linking two devices with them. So once again we will be using the networking benchmark by Passmark (v.8) and the QCheck by Ixia to test such devices the same exact way we test Powerline adapters and Modem/Routers. Since we need to test new features and specifications all routers are benchmarked with their highest available wireless standard/band (5GHz in this case). Our systems are placed 15m away from the router with 3 concrete walls between them while each test is repeated a total of 6 times after which the average scores are recorded into our charts. Both systems have Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 installed with all the updates until the 8th of April 2014.

TEST RESULTS

Out of all 4 tests the EA6900 failed to surpass the AC1750 router by TRENDnet in one making it the faster router to pass from our test bench to date.

CONCLUSION

   Although Linksys was just recently purchased by Belkin that doesn't seem to have affected their products (at least not in a negative matter) and thus the EA6900 AC1900 Smart Wi-Fi Wireless Router took the performance crown from the TEW-812DRU AC1750 Wireless Router by TRENDnet with ease. Leaving out the performance part the EA6900 also comes packing several interesting features including a USB 3.0 port which can be used to attach USB drives and share their files and folders across the internet, cloud system which allows the end user to control the basic functions of the router via a smartphone or a tablet and a user friendly web interface which offers a wealth of features that even first timers can use. For the more demanding users the lack of full VPN functionality may be reason enough to look elsewhere but VPN pass-through should satisfy the majority of users out there. Unfortunately to date Linksys hasn't released a modem router device similar to the EA6900 and although we'd really love to see something like that (space saving is an issue for some people) it may not come to pass since even right now the flagship modem router model by Linksys still uses the previous generation wireless-n 750Mbps connectivity.

   AC1900 is the latest in wireless technology so naturally compatible routers are bound to cost quite a bit especially since as we speak only Linksys, Netgear and ASUS have launched such models in the market. So right now the EA6900 AC1900 Smart Wi-Fi Wireless Router by Linksys will set you back a total of USD181.73 in the USA (Amazon.com) and 180Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) a price tag that puts it roughly USD10/25Euros behind the R7000 Nighthawk by Netgear and USD39/30Euros behind the RT-AC68U by ASUS the only other two AC1900 compatible routers in the market. However since we haven't had the chance to test these two models yet we can't compare them to the EA6900. On the other hand having the lowest price tag always helps especially when it seems really hard for another router to match its performance levels and that's why the EA6900 AC1900 Smart Wi-Fi Wireless Router by Linksys gets our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design
- 5GHz Performance (Fastest In Our Charts)
- AC1900 Technology (Concurrent 802.11n & 802.11ac)
- 6 Antennas (3 Interior & 3 Exterior)
- User Friendly Web Interface
- Features
- 4 Gigabit Ethernet Ports
- 2 USB Ports (USB 3.0 & USB 2.0)

CONS

- Price (For Some)